[wiggle16]

Originally Posted by ElJaguar

2 famous quotes

The Voltaire quote about freedom of speech "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"

He never said it.

Or as the joke goes

"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the DEATH your right to misattribute it to Voltaire!!"
- Voltaire

"Let them eat cake" is another one. Marie Antoinette was a child when the quote began to do the rounds so she could not have said it.

The idea that people prior to say, the 15th century, thought that the Earth was flat and you could sail over the edge, is also a myth. The Ancient Greeks had mathematically determined that the Earth is round.

That the Polish Hussars charged at German tanks... on horseback.

[whisky_galore]

The laughable piece in Tom Barry's book about Japanese soldiers after the fall of Singapore singing "The Boys of Kilmichael".

More chance of the lads of the column performing Kabuki.

[pinkypinky]

That Richard III killed his nephews, had a withered arm, etc.

[silliussoddius]

Originally Posted by pinkypinky

That Richard III killed his nephews, had a withered arm, etc.

What is current thinking of what happened them?

[saabsaab]

That De Valera was behind the shooting of Michael Collins.

[Edgware]

That the first shots of the War of Independence was fired at Soloheadbeg

[pinkypinky]

Originally Posted by silliussoddius

What is current thinking of what happened them?

Much more likely to have been Henry since the boys had a stronger claim than their sister who he married. Shakespeare performed great propaganda for the Tudors.

Finding Richard's skeleton proved he had a deformed spine but his arms were normal.

[whisky_galore]

Originally Posted by saabsaab

That De Valera was behind the shooting of Michael Collins.

You can blame that cartoon of a Michael Collins movie for popularising that.

[Caquas]

Originally Posted by Notoldorwise

"Being born in a stable does not make one a horse". A quote falsely claimed to have been uttered by the Duke of Wellington

Worse still, it was said about him by his arch-enemy Daniel O'Connell. During a speech at a banquet after one of O'Connell's Monster Meetings on Sunday the 1st of October 1843

The following passage in reference to the Duke of Wellington was received with great laughter: “The poor old duke what shall I say of him. To be sure he was born in Ireland, but being born in a stable does not make a man a horse.”

In fact, the Duke was from a distinguished Anglo-Irish family with deep roots in Ireland. His father was the first Professor of Music in Trinity College and the Duke was famously musical. Beethoven’s orchestral piece "Wellington’s Victory" is said to have made its composer more money than any other work.

[pinkypinky]

I think it's marvellous that we consider Wellington's comment a snub against us when DOC actually meant to snub him in reverse by saying. We should allow this historical inaccuracy to stand.

[grassylawn]

Cork is called the Rebel County because of its resistance to British rule.

It is called that by Henry VII because it sent two pretenders during his reign.
https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/history/...rebel-16323863

[saabsaab]

Originally Posted by grassylawn

Cork is called the Rebel County because of its resistance to British rule.

It is called that by Henry VII because it sent two pretenders during his reign.
https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/history/...rebel-16323863

It's probably now called that still because of the resistance!

[coolbeans]

Originally Posted by pinkypinky

That many Irish people of sallow skin must descend from survivors of the Spanish Armada.

This comes up a lot now in discussing the ethnicity results of DNA tests.

Sallow doesn't mean what you think it means... at least everywhere except Ireland it means sickly looking or jaundiced.

[Peregrinus]

Originally Posted by coolbeans

Sallow doesn't mean what you think it means... at least everywhere except Ireland it means sickly looking or jaundiced.

And it's etymologically related to the Irish salach, dirty!

In what is basically a racist usage, it came to be applied to the brownish or yellowish skin tones of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern people, the implication being that these people were naturally unclean.

[John Hutton]

A controversial one here, that the Examiner (and all other outlets) recently reported:

The Galway historian, whose research established that 796 children were buried in a septic tank at a former mother and baby home in Tuam

The "800 babies in a septic tank" went round the world and has been almost universally accepted as established fact among the public and the media, and has been discussed a lot in recent weeks.

This is not the case at all and the lady who "established" this, never said or argued that 800 babies were dumped in a septic tank.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/soci...tory-1.1823393